Harry Potter- What Came Next
by KatelenaThorn
Summary: I am safe. There is no more Voldemort, and there are no more Horcruxes. But there is still grief. And fear. And so much that is unknown to me. this is my first story! So I hope you like it! :)
1. Chapter 1 The dream

Vodemort is standing in front of me. His face twisted in to a cruel lipless smile. I want to run, but I can't. My feet are rooted to the ground and when I blink I feel as if every nerve in my body is filled with lead. He walks slowly closer to me, still smiling. I try to take a step backward, but when I do, it is so sluggish and heavy it dose not do me much good. His red snake eyes are piercing, and wicked. When he opens his mouth to laugh, a wet gurgling sound escapes his mouth. Blood comes rushing out of his mouth, socking his black robes and soon spraying in all directions. The smell of it fills my nose, and I suddenly feel the urge to vomit. He comes closer to me, blood gushing out of his mouth so fast, it begins to fill the black room we are standing in. The vile stuff is now level with my elbows, hot and sticky. Voldemort slowly reaches for my neck, and as he dose, his finger nails grow in to long snake fangs. I am so afraid that I can almost taste my fear. His fingers slowly wrap around my neck and he begins pealing off my skin, with his snake fang fingers. just when I close my eyes and begin to scream, some thing happens. Voldemort is no longer in front of me. I am in front of a frost covered hill, with the brilliant night sky above me. I suddenly hear a girl weeping. I walk up the hill to see who is making such a distressed sound. When I see who it is my heart skips a beat. It is Ginny, crouching helplessly at the top of the hill. "Ginny?" I ask. "What's wrong?" At the sound of my voice she turns around. A look of hatred creeps up on her face. She has dark bags under her eyes, and she is pail, and much to skinny. "YOU!" She shrieks. "You did this! You KILLED them!" She points a boney finger to the bottom of the hill. I look down, and as I do a scream escapes my lips. Because there is no other way to express the horror that I feel inside. At the bottom of the hill there is a giant pit full of blood. Swimming in that blood are bodies. Some of the bodies are so mangled, I could never guess who they once belonged to. Others I do know. Fred, Lupen, Tonks, Madeye, all rotten and glossy eyed, stinking in death. I stumble backwards, unable to look any more. "Ginny please!" I beg. "Please, I'm sorry! I never wanted this! I loved them to! We can get through this together!" She glares at me and says, " You think I still want to be with you? I can't evan look at you. You are VILE!" She spits the words out as if they are poison. I sink to my knees. She spits in my direction, and turns away. But before she dose, I glance at her eyes, and for just one moment our eyes meat. They are not the strong, soft brown eyes I once knew, they are ice cold. A pang of hurt pierces my chest. as she is walking away, All I feel is a hopeless aching feeling running in my vanes.


	2. Chapter 2 Waking up

I wake up shaking and sweaty. I touch my lightning shaped scar out of habit, but it is not burning. Then I remember. Voldemort is dead! I have nothing to be afraid of! Nothing to run from.

I sit up and put on my glasses. The drapes are drawn on my four poster bed, so when I draw them back, it's a huge surprise that it's day light. I look over at Ron's bed to see if he is still there, and to my surprise, Hermione is laying next to Ron, her face pressed against his chest. She is laying on top of the covers, in baby blue pajamas.

Ron has his legs under the covers and is still in his day clothes. His eyes are swollen, and his face is blotchy. He has been crying. I feel a pang of gilt. If he had never met me would he look so unhappy evan in sleep? I don't know.

I get dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a grey T-shirt and some lace-up sneakers. I walk out of the dormitory as quietly as I can, as to not disturb Ron and Hermione. As I walk down the stairs, I hear voices.

"Should we wake them?" Asks Mrs. Weasley. "No, they need as much rest as they can get..." Says Mr. Weasley. "We haven't been in here in ages!" She says. "This is the place we first met, first danced, first kissed." He says. I stay frozen on the steps.

I don't want to disturb this tender conversation about the Gryfindor common room. I also do not want to look at Mr. Weasley, because he will remind me of Fred, how I was there when he died. How I should have been fast enough to save him. The gilt that I now feel.

So I sit on the steps and wait for them to leave. It dose not take long. I am hungry, but I don't want to go down to the great hall. everyone will be there, eating, talking, grieving. I wish Ron and Hermione would wake up

I wonder what things will be like now that Ron and Hermione are dating. Will it be just the same? Maybe it will, maybe they will continue to biker and, sit with me for hours out under the shady tree by the lake. _Yes it will be just the same, but now they'll be snoging every five seconds,_ I think to myself.

Maybe I can find Ginny. My insides become knots. I have longed for her for so long and now I hesitate. What's the matter with me? Is it because of that dream I had? No, it is because I am afraid she will reject me.

But I have to find her. I have to hear her voice, smell her sweet hair, look in to her soft eyes, taste her lips, wrap my arms around her waste. I will find her. It is better to be rejected than to ignore her, and silently tell her that she is not worth my time.

She is worth it. She is.


	3. Chapter 3 finding Ginny

I begin my quest to find Ginny. I think maybe she is still sleeping, but I don't know were that might be. In the girl's dormitory I guess, but I can't get up there, Ron tried one time and the stairs flattened and became a slide.

I have to go to the great hall. I don't want to but that is a very probable spot for Ginny to be. I know people will tell me what a good job i've done and how brave I was, and I just don't want to hear it. What is worse is that I know that Lupen won't be down there to pull me away from the crowd of people, so I won't have to listen to them congratulate me when he knows I am really hurting.

Tonks won't be there to clumsily lighten up the mood of everyone around her with her bubbly personality. Fred will not be there... Without Fred there is no George ether. No one will be laughing. With out Fred and George there is no reason to laugh. I should be crying like Ron, I should be really messed up about all of this.

How can you mourn for your loved ones when nothing feels real? I take a deep breath. I have to go down there. I have to find Ginny and make sure that she still wants to be with me. I have to hear her voice telling me that everything is okay.

When I get to the great hall, I want to turn and leave. It is crowded with people. There are a hand full of groups who seem to be having the time of there lives, cheering that the dark lord is dead. But most are talking in sad hushed voices, and some are crying. I spot the Malfoys right away. They are clearly out of place and rejected. They sit alone, Lucias and Narcissa are huddled on a bench, and Draco sits cross legged on the floor in front of them.

I don't want to be seen. I don't want to be noticed. I look at my shoes and try to stay out of sight. It dose not work. "Harry!" Booms Hagrid. _Why Hagrid? Why? _I think to myself. But I smile at him, he didn't mean any harm.

"Hi, Hagrid!" I say, "Have you seen Ginny?" Hagrid pauses to think. "Yea! I saw her not a mini' ago! she went out side!" "Thank you!" I say, and I run, as fast as I can to the exit doors, dodging people, and a centaur or two. Lodes of people try to get my atention, or try to introduce me to someone, but I brush them off, telling them that I have to do some thing.

Once I am outside, I gulp the fresh air and soak up the sun light and, feel the crunchy old snow under my feet. Ginny will be in one of two places, the Qudditch field, or the lake. I check the lake because it's closer. I run, and when I get there my chest is burning and my nose and fingers are numb, and my face is red. But that dose not matter, because I see her. She is wearing a plum knit sweater, with a wooly green hat and waves of bright red hair drape her in wild fire.

"Ginny." I say with hopefulness spilling from my chest. She turns, and the flames of her hair begin to dance as she jogs toward me. I open my cold arms to her, and she slams into me, and my body absorbs the impact. She wraps her arms around my neck, and pushes the side of her face into my shoulder. My body fills with heat as I fold my arms around her. I blow a sigh that holds all of my emotions in it out my nose.

She pulls away enough to see my face and asks, "Want to go inside? I didn't want to eat breakfast without you. "Yea." I say. Because eating in the great hall dose not seem so bad anymore.


	4. Chapter 4 The Great Hall

Ginny and I walk back to the common room. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders, and now I feel far to light. How long have I been holding that weight? Far to long.

We sit at a Gryffindor table as always, and for the first time I get a good look at her. Her face is almost the same, but there is a shadow over it. Her eyes have heavy rings under them, and her lips are pail and chapped.

She feels me staring at her and meets my eyes. "Are you okay?" She says. I must look worried. "I am. Are you?" I ask. She nods, looks down and then says, "It's just... So much has happened. I didn't know where you were, or what you were doing. For so long I wanted you with me, now that you're here, I don't know what to say."

She looks up at me expecting me to respond, but I don't know what to say ether. "I will tell you everything. But not now. Wait for when we are alone." I say, grabbing her hand. That sounded good. I do want to tell her everything, but I think that I might break down at some point, and I don't want to that here.

I start serving myself eggs and toast, when I see them. They look different, but the same. Hermione has her hair pulled back in a messy pony tail, with a red zipper sweater and jeans. She looks normal, just tiered.

Ron has a green striped shirt on, and dark jeans. He looks sad, and some how week. Somehow this pail, pained looking Ron makes me feel strange. Usually I am the one who is pail and sad, and Ron is the one to tell me it's okay, and to make me laugh. I don't ever want to lose that Ron in my life.

Ron and Hermione sit across from Ginny and I. To my surprise, they are acting almost no differently than they usually do. The only difference I can detect, is that they are sitting closer to each other than normal. But really, what was I expecting? For them to be snogging every minute or so?

Ron lazily butters some toast and says, "So are you two back together?" He gestures to Ginny and I with his butter knife. He smiles a little, but it dose not travel to his eyes. "As a matter of fact we are. That was the plan." Ginny says cooly, as she eats a slice of bacon. A _swooshing_ feeling swallows my stomach when Ginny says "that was the plan" I'm glad she knew I would come back to her.

"I'm glad I was asleep for your reuniting. You most likely snoged each other's faces off." Ron says, taking a large bite of his toast. "You're one to talk!" Ginny spits hotly. "I saw you and Hermione go up to the boy's dormitory last night, and Hermione never came back down." She whispers, so only we four can hear her. Hermione stops eating her waffles and stares at Ron, waiting for what he will say in response to his sister.

Ron's ears and cheeks flush. "Nothing happened Ginny!" Ron whispers back, avoiding eye contact with me. "Whatever you say, Ron." Ginny says teasingly.

I meet eyes with Hermione, and smile knowingly at her. I believe that nothing happened last night between Ron and Hermione. I think she was just there to comfort him while he cried for Fred. But I know he would never want me, or Ginny to know that.

She says nothing, just looks at Ron and rubs his shoulder before resuming to her waffles. I'm happy that in this moment, things are normal, happy. Evan if it's just for a little while.


	5. Chapter 5 release

I pull Ginny up random stair cases, searching for an empty class room. We find one.

It has dust caked on to almost everything, with a few chairs and an old chock board. Ginny pulls out her wand and mutters a spell that sucks all the dust in to her wand tip.

I sit down in one of the creaky old chairs and begin to tell her everything that happened. The only things that I leave out are Ron's worst fears that came out of the horcrux, and when Ron was explaining small balls of lights going through his chest, leading him back to Hermione. That's Ron's business.

The whole time she is silent. Pacing the room or sitting next to me. At some parts of the story she holds me, and runs her fingers through my hair.

When I am done two hours have passed. Hot sticky tears run down my face. Half because of relief in telling some one of all that I have been through, the other half because of pain.

"So it was all for nothing. The battle here. If I had just died, given myself over to Voldemort in the first place, no one would have died. It's my fault, I didn't solve the puzzle." I say with guilt and anger at myself. "You forgot about something." She says, leaning back from me.

"You forgot about the snake. If you had given yourself to him in the beginning, there would be no battle, and who would have killed the snake?" Ginny says. "You have to stop blaming yourself for everything Harry!" She says. "You are only human you know. It was a war, people die in wars. It's no ones fault! Most definitely not yours!" She sound flustered.

I know she is right. But how do I stop myself from feeling so guilty? A horrible weight settles in my chest. I have lost so much. _But you didn't lose her did you? Or Ron, or Hermione._ I think to myself.

Then I realize something. I may not feel okay today or next week or evan next year. But I will feel better. I have Ginny and my friends. I can get through this.

I slowly sink to the floor. All at once the realness of everything hits me so hard, I can't hold it in. I can't breath. I cover my face with my hands as grief fills me, drowning me. I start to sob, still covering my face.

I will never see them again. I realize that Lupen was the last piece of my father that I had. Now he is gone. Gone. Gone.

Ginny sits next to me on the floor, leaning into me, pressing a lovely flowery smell into me that fills my whole being. I take my hands from my face and wrap my arms around her, pressing my face into her shoulder. She wraps her arms around my neck and lays the side of her face on my chest and begins to cry as well.

We sit like this for a long time. When we break apart I feel empty. She lifts my glasses, as she dose her face becomes blurry. She wipe my cheeks clean with the sleeves of her plum colored sweater. She puts my glasses back on and asks, "Do you feel better?" I nod. She nods back.

I straiten out my legs and she lays her head on my lap, and exhales heavily. We stay silent for a long time.


	6. Chapter 6 I love you

Ginny and I eat lunch in the common room because we wanted to be alone. Today we have mashed potatos and turkey sandwiches. When we are done eating we sit by the fire, in old squishy chairs. It is nice to be back here, it really is home to me.

"What is going to happen?" Ginny asks. "What do you mean?" I ask puzzled. "I mean, I will go back to school, and I'm willing to bet Hermione is to. What will you do? You don't have a place to live remember?"

"Oh." I say. I hadn't thought of that. "Maybe I'll live at the burrow. Then I'll have to get a job, and find my own place." I know I'm not going to finnish school.

"What if mum dose not want you to stay at the burrow?" Asks Ginny. "Why wouldn't she?" I ask. "Because! We're dating! It's not proper." Ginny replies.

"Oh.." I Say rather disappointed. I think for a few seconds. "I have a house!" I say. "What?" Asks Ginny. "Sirius left it to me, remember?" I respond. "Oh. Okay." Ginny says.

I had never thought about getting a job before. Were should I apply? Some place small at first. Maybe in Hogsmead, I could see Ginny all the time. Yes that is my plan.

Ginny gets up from her chair, and at first I feel disappointed, because I want to stay by the fire, but I also don't want to be without her. Then she sits on my lap. I smile at her and look in to her eyes. I am amazed to see there is love in them, bright brown and beautiful.

"Harry..." She whispers. But that's all she gets to say because I lean in and kiss her. It is a beautiful, soft kiss. I run my fingers through her flaming hair, down her back. My hands settle on her waist. I try to soak her up. feel every breath she takes, every movement.

She slides her hands slowly up my face, taking off my glasses. Her hands are worm. In that moment I feel a hunger so great it will never be satisfied. No matter how much of Ginny I have, or how much of myself I give to her, no matter how long we are together it will never be enough.

_I love her _As this thought come in to my brain I feel a flutter of panic. We break apart. "What happened?" Ginny asks. "Nothing." I say, and continue to kiss her. _What do I do? I should tell her. how do I tell her? Am I really in love? I don't know, I've never been in love before. _All these thoughts rush through my mind.I am definitely panicking now.

_Stop it! Just kiss her! Don't think about it right now._ I try to fallow my own advice. I try to get lost in the world were only Ginny and I are real, and to my surprise, it isn't that hard. So I just feel her and only her, and nothing els matters. "I'll be right back."

Ginny whispers. She leaves me and goes to the girl's dormitory, to use the lue most likely. I bite my lip. What do I do?

I slide on my glasses and the panic resumes in my body, my heart beating to fast. I should tell her. But what if she dose not feel that way just yet? I guess that shouldn't matter. I should just be honest wit her.

I rub my face with my hands several times. I think about her. Her worm lips, her soft freckled skin, her beautiful smile. How smart she is, how she can make anyone laugh, how passionate she is about things she believes in, about life. She is so strong, in every way. I would never change her, not one thing, and that tells me that I love her.

She comes back and sits on my lap again. She leans in for another kiss, but I stop her, gently holding her face in my hands. "I love you." I say.


	7. Chapter 7 falling asleep

Ginny grabs my hands from her face and weaves her fingers into mine. I try to read her face, but I can't. I don't know what she is feeling. "I love you to." She whispers. My chest floods with warmth.

A smile creeps on to my face. I am so overwhelmed with relief and happiness. I feel it flowing through my vanes filling me up, blossoming in to something beautiful. She loves me and I love her, and everything is perfect. She leans in to my face, and rests her four head to mine.

We both close our eyes. This feels so right. I feel like I really could be with this girl for the rest of my life. I really do.

We both sit on one of the old squishy chairs, her curled up and laying against me. Her head rests on my chest. She is asleep. I can feel her breath against my neck, emanating through my entire body. For the first time in so long I feel content.

I fall asleep to the pattering of raindrops on the windows, and the sound of Ginny breathing, and the sweet smell of her hair.

**This is the last chapter of this story. Hope you enjoyed reading it. It is my first story and I think it is rather pathetic, so feed back is appreciated.**


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